Chapter 11: The Woman Before My Mother
“First wife?””
I looked at my father.
He didn't move.
“Dad, what is she talking about?””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“Clara is trying to confuse you.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
He looked toward Margaret.
My mother lowered her eyes.
Victor stepped forward.
“Daniel, there's no point hiding it anymore.””
My father turned sharply.
“You stay out of this.””
Victor didn't back down.
“Lena deserves to know.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Know what?””
Daniel finally sat down.
“When I was twenty-two, I was married to a woman named Elizabeth.””
“Why have I never heard of her?””
“Because she died before you were born.””
“How?””
He stared at the floor.
“A car accident.””
I remembered the story about my own father's supposed accident.
The same explanation.
The same unanswered questions.
“Was it really an accident?””
He didn't answer.
My mother approached me.
“Elizabeth discovered something about Leon. She was preparing to testify against him.””
“And?””
“Her car was found at the bottom of a ravine.””
I covered my mouth.
“Leon killed her?””
My father nodded.
“That's what I believe.””
Victor looked at him.
“You never told me she had discovered the original accounts.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Because I didn't trust you with that information.””
Victor accepted the accusation without arguing.
Rebecca interrupted.
“We can discuss family history later. Right now, Clara is missing, Leon is preparing to take control of Romano Holdings, and we have a witness who could connect him to multiple murders.””
My father stood.
“I know where Leon will go.””
“Where?””
“The old Romano estate in Westchester.””
Victor frowned.
“My father's house?””
Daniel nodded.
“There's an underground archive beneath the property. Leon has been using it to store documents that could compromise him.””
Rebecca immediately called her team.
“We'll arrange a warrant.””
Victor shook his head.
“By the time you get one, he'll be gone.””
“Mr. Romano, I won't authorize an illegal operation.””
“Then don't authorize it. Just don't stand in my way.””
Rebecca stepped closer.
“If you interfere with a federal investigation, I'll arrest you myself.””
Victor looked at me.
“Lena, I need you to stay here.””
I folded my arms.
“Absolutely not.””
“Please.””
“No. Every time someone tells me to stay somewhere safe, somebody disappears.””
My father shook his head.
“Your mother and I are going.””
I looked at him.
“You've already spent five years making decisions for me.””
“Lena—”
“I'm coming.””
Rebecca finally intervened.
“Fine. But you follow my instructions. Nobody acts independently.””
The Romano estate stood behind iron gates on a quiet road in Westchester.
It was an enormous stone mansion surrounded by tall trees.
Victor stared at the building through the windshield.
“I grew up here.””
My mother sat beside him.
“You hated it.””
“I hated what it represented.””
“What did it represent?”” I asked.
Victor looked toward the mansion.
“An empire built on fear. My father believed money could purchase anything. Silence.
Loyalty. Even love.””
We entered through the rear service door.
Daniel led us toward a staircase hidden behind a bookcase.
At the bottom was a steel door with an electronic keypad.
“Leon changed the code,” he said.
Victor examined the panel.
“Can you open it?””
Daniel nodded.
He entered six numbers.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a long room filled with filing cabinets, computers, and metal storage boxes.
Rebecca immediately photographed everything.
“Don't touch anything until my team arrives.””
Daniel walked toward a cabinet marked 1998–2005.
He opened it.
Inside were dozens of folders.
“Here.””
He removed a thick envelope.
Victor opened it carefully.
The first document was a bank transfer.
The second was a list of payments.
The third was a photograph.
I recognized the woman immediately.
Clara.
She was standing beside a much younger Leon.
But there was another person in the photograph.
A man wearing a police uniform.
Rebecca took the photograph.
Her face went white.
“That's impossible.””
Victor frowned.
“Who is he?””
Rebecca swallowed.
“My father.””
Thomas Shaw.
The prosecutor who had supposedly died investigating my father's disappearance.
She turned the photograph over.
A handwritten message appeared.
Thomas, once the Romano family is under our control, nobody will ever question us again.
Rebecca's hands began trembling.
“My father wasn't investigating them.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. He was working with them.””
Rebecca stared at the picture.
“My entire career...””
Victor gently touched her shoulder.
“Rebecca.””
She stepped away.
“Don't.””
A noise came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Daniel immediately switched off the lights.
Someone opened the steel door.
A familiar voice echoed through the archive.
“Daniel? I know you're here.””
Leon.
Victor raised his weapon.
Leon walked inside, holding a small flashlight.
“You always were predictable.””
He looked around the room.
Then his light stopped on Rebecca.
“Agent Shaw. What a pleasant surprise.””
Rebecca raised her gun.
“Hands where I can see them!””
Leon laughed.
“Your father would be disappointed.””
“Don't you dare mention my father.””
Leon slowly raised both hands.
“Your father was a brilliant man. Unfortunately, he made one mistake.””
Rebecca's voice trembled.
“What mistake?””
“He believed he could retire.””
Before anyone could move, the archive lights came on.
A dozen armed men stood behind Leon.
One of them stepped forward.
Clara.
She was wearing a dark red dress and holding a folder.
“Hello again, Lena.””
I stepped behind Victor.
Clara smiled.
“Did you enjoy discovering your little family secret?””
Victor aimed his weapon.
“It's over.””
She laughed.
“Victor, darling. You really haven't learned anything.””
She opened the folder and removed a document.
“Your company shares are now under Leon's control.””
Victor stared at it.
“That document is forged.””
“Perhaps. But there's something else.””
She placed a second paper on the table.
A DNA report.
My name was printed at the top.
The result showed that Victor Romano was not my biological father.
I stared at the page.
“What?””
Clara smiled.
“Surprised?””
My mother began shaking her head.
“That's impossible.””
Clara looked at Daniel.
“Tell her.””
My father lowered his weapon.
I turned toward him.
“Dad?””
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“Lena, I'm sorry.””
Clara leaned closer.
“Your biological father isn't Victor Romano.””
She pointed toward Daniel.
“It's him.””
I frowned.
“But Daniel raised me. He always said—”
“Not Daniel Hart.””
Clara smiled.
“Daniel Hart is the man who adopted you. Your real father was someone else.””
She pointed toward Leon.
“Your biological father is the man standing beside me.””
The room went silent.
I looked at Leon Mercer.
May you like
He smiled.
“Hello, daughter.””
